As Mayor Richard Daley weighs the idea of bidding for the 2016 Olympics, he has raised the possibility of new projects that later could be used as affordable or senior housing, as well as transportation links to ease congestion. And he confirmed that he is looking seriously at luring a second NFL franchise to the city.
Speaking at McCormick Place Thursday during his sixth annual sports festival, Daley said he would soon appoint a committee to look in more detail at what facilities would be needed to make Chicago a serious bidder for the 2016 Olympics.
“You could do a lot of amenities, a lot of things building up to it,” said Daley, giving a rare public airing on the possibility of bidding for the Olympics. “Transportation links would be really important … Once you build housing for the athletes, then you turn it over to affordable housing … Or you can turn it into senior housing. There’s a lot of issues you can deal with.”
Daley said that any new projects must have a viable use after the event is over. He plans to set up a Web site to collect ideas from residents on potential facilities and how they might be used once the Olympics have ended.
“If you build a stadium, what are you going to use it for after the event?” the mayor asked. “San Francisco has two [National Football League teams], New York has two. This is a great city, a great sports town. If it can handle two baseball teams, it can easily handle two football teams.”
Daley acknowledged he has not spoken to the NFL about securing a second franchise for the city, but he pointed to the Oakland Raiders franchise, owned by maverick Al Davis, as a possibility. He highlighted the fact that the Raiders, originally based in Oakland, have moved to Los Angeles and back to Oakland and have been rumored to be in search of a new home.
“Another franchise would really help the National Football League in the long run,” said Daley. “It would help the Bears as well.”
Getting a second franchise was a “goal that we look at especially when you talk about the Olympics,” said Daley.
Despite talk of bringing a new team to town, he said he loves the Chicago Bears, which on Christmas clinched the NFC North title and with it a first-round bye and a home playoff game.
“I think they really look good,” said Daley. “It’s like the [Chicago White] Sox–everybody underestimates them. Nobody talked about the Bears, but all of a sudden they have a nice team.”
The potential for Chicago to house another football franchise has been a hot topic since the Tribune revealed last week that the mayor had privately floated the idea of building a new domed stadium to enhance a possible bid for the Olympics.
The renovated Soldier Field seats 61,500, the second-smallest capacity in the NFL.
A new stadium holding at least 80,000 people would be the centerpiece of an Olympics bid and among many facilities expected to be required for an Olympics host city. The International Olympic Committee chooses the 2016 host in 2009.
Initial cost estimates on building a domed facility are between $600 million and $1 billion. Daley said his team would study the economics of making a bid and developing new projects.
“You have to look at it from a financial perspective,” said Daley, who is believed to be searching for a senior business figure to head his Olympic bid review team. “You would have to look at the cost factor, all that is involved and what amenities would be needed for Chicago to hold the Olympics.”
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